NZ PM key speech at UN meeting

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s key speech at the UN yesterday focused on the importance of collectivism and cooperation to address global issues.

Although the New Zealand PM did not criticise President Trump, who was openly laughed at by delegates for saying the US rejects the ideology of globalism and accept the doctrine of patriotism, Mrs Arden provided a strong counter argument to the US President’s stance.

PM not ruling merging the ABC and SBS

The Prime Minister Scott Morrison says he isn’t ruling out a merger between the ABC and the SBS as we wait for the recommendations of an internal review into political interference in the public broadcaster.

Following ABC Chairman Justin Milne’s resignation and the leaks of emails between himself and management urging the sacking of journalists, the Prime Minister has also recommended Dr Kirsten Ferguson, and adjunct professor at QUT, become acting chair of the board.

Queensland University given $250,000 to grow maggots

Griffith university has been awarded $250,000 grant to grow and monitor maggots for medical purposes.

Project leader, Frank Stadler, says the wound-cleaning abilities of maggots were ideal for conflict and disaster scenarios where more advanced healthcare wasn’t immediately accessible.

The practice of using fly larvae to remove dead tissue and control infection has been a practise adopted by many cultures and was even used to treat soldiers’ wounds in World War I.

 

Macedonian Referendum: President urges people not to vote

Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov has urged voters to abstain from a referendum that would change their name to ‘North Macedonia’.

The referendum, to take place on Sunday, September 30, intended to further differentiate the former Balkan State from the Northern Greek province also called Macedonia.

As a result of the State of Macedonia sharing names with the Greek Province, Greece has been barring them from entering both NATO and the European Union.

Cadbury factory replacing workers with robots

Cadbury has announced that it will cut 40 workers from it’s Tasmanian factory over the next four months as machines replace workers.

Independent Denison MP, Andrew Wilkie, says the Cadbury factory is a bedrock of the local community and the the loss of 40 jobs will hurt.

The job cuts come after announcements by Cadbury’s US parent will spend $20 million to upgrade machinery, raising the total number of job cuts in the company to 170 since 2015.

 

Art installation protests against single-use plastic material

Rural queensland environmental artist, Amber Countryman, has turned litter collected from local beaches to create an art installation in protest against single-use plastic material.

The installation, entitled ‘77 species,’ featured crosses made of discarded wood, adorned with washed-up litter to represent the numerous species affected by the pollution.

The work was displayed by the seaside at Yeppoon's Village Festival in August.

Push for International Space Station funding to be extended

A key member of the US House of Representatives will soon introduce legislation to extend operations of the International Space Station.

Currently, the Space Station’s authorisation will run out in 2024, but Republican Senator Brian Babin says his bill would extend its operations to 2030 unless a financially viable private sector alternative was available sooner.

Republican Senator Ted Cruz also supported the bill, saying over $100 billion has been invested into the ISS, and it’s important for Government to maximize the return on taxpayer’s investment.

Distracted boyfriend meme rules sexist by Swedish advertising watchdog

A Swedish advertising watchdog has ruled use of the “distracted boyfriend” meme as sexist.

The popular meme was used in a recruitment drive by an internet services provider, where they labelled the boyfriend as “you”, the girlfriend as “your current workplace”, and the woman he’s staring at as “Bahnhof”, the internet service provider.